SAN RAMON — Newark Memorial High boys soccer coach Keith Switzer wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from his team coming into the Winter Soccer Classic.

Sure, the Cougars were 4-0 in Mission Valley Athletic League play and Newark does have 17 seniors on the roster, but with his two top players — Edgar Ceja and Lupe Arellano — opting to head south to Mexico with their families for Christmas, Switzer felt a letdown was possible.

Monday night in the first round, Newark did indeed drop a match, 1-0 to Castro Valley. But instead of packing it in for the rest of the tournament, the Cougars came roaring back Tuesday night, beating California, one of the top teams in the East Bay Athletic League, 2-0 on the Grizzlies’ home pitch.

The outcome evened both teams’ records at 1-1 in the Classic with the final round of pool play scheduled for today. The championship and consolation games will be played Thursday.

“I came into the tournament thinking we were going to struggle and we would get the bench a lot of playing time,” Switzer said. “But (Monday) ignited them. They didn’t like losing and it fired them up.”

And it didn’t take long for Newark (11-1-1) to get a little extra spark, as Daniel Valencia got the games’ first goal with just over six minutes gone in the match. Robert Rojas forced the issue on the play, chasing a through-ball down the middle, forcing Cal (7-1) goalkeeper Corey Seip to come off his line and clear the ball with his foot.

The bouncing ball went to Valencia, who in turn hit a high, arching shot from 45 yards out which got over Seip’s head and

into the goal.

“We came out flat and the first goal gave them momentum,” said Cal coach Brian Rouillard. “That’s the first time we had to play from behind all year.”

And the Grizzlies would play from behind all night, thanks to some solid defense from seldom-used sweeper Sean Powers, who was filling in for Ceja, and a great game-plan from Switzer.

Cal brings a talented trio up front to each match in Kyle Davies, Andrew Weideman and Ian Conklin. Tuesday, Davies was the lone player who was able to make any good runs, but even those didn’t result in success for the Grizzlies.

“We knew about those big three players coming in,” Switzer said. “The best way to defend them is to not let them get the ball.”

A pair of Newark defenders took Weideman and Conklin out of the match, but the job of playing Davies fell to Oso Rodriguez, who normally plays up front.

“He’s the most fit on the team, so we dropped him back from striker to mark Davies,” Switzer explained.

Rodriguez dogged Davies all night, so even when the talented sophomore was able to get the ball, he had a man right on him and it paid off.

“Their coaching staff put together a very strong game plan,” said Rouillard. “They knew who to look for. That’s your job as a coach, to find a plan, then find the players to implement the plan. They were able to do that.”

The Cougars basically put the match away with their second goal a little over 10 minutes into the second half. Kyle Kelley made a run down the left side and hit a cross, and the ball managed to find its way across the penalty box.

Newark midfielder Joe Wisneski made a long run up the right side, beat Seip to the ball and put it home for the 2-0 lead. Cal had a couple of good chances in the final 10 minutes, but the Grizzlies were unable to put the ball away.

Now Cal must contend with coming back from its first loss of the season, much the same as Newark did after Monday’s game.

“I think we came into the game a little too proud,” said Rouillard. “I think we’ve learned from our mistakes and this will make us stronger as we go along. I think this will be a wake up call.”